April 3, 2022 7:42 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — For the 48th time over 47 years of unparalleled coaching, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski took the slow walk to midcourt and shook the hand of the North Carolina coach who beat him. After that, he found his wife, Mickie, and they made the slow, sad walk, hand-in-hand, off the Superdome floor. Saturday night’s 81-77 setback in the national semifinal showdown between archrivals marked Coach K’s last loss, and one of his toughest losses, too. And thanks to the Tar Heels — those dadgum Tar Heels — the 75-year-old coach will have plenty of time to get over it. Krzyzewski’s remarkable career came to gut-wrenching close after Caleb Love made a key 3-pointer and three late free throws to lift the Tar Heels to their thrill-a-minute victory. This was the 258th, most consequential and maybe, just maybe, the very best meeting between these teams, whose arenas are separated by a scant 11 miles down on Tobacco Road. The eighth-seeded Tar Heels (29-9), of all teams, pinned the 368th and final loss on Krzyzewski. He finished with 1202 wins. His lifetime record against North Carolina fell to 50-48. Losses No. 47 and 48 are ones Carolina fans will treasure forever. They were partying early into Sunday morning on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. This latest win came exactly four weeks after the Tar Heels ruined the going-away party in Coach K’s final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
April 3, 2022 7:44 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Ochai Agbaji followed a celebrating stream of Kansas players off the floor at the Final Four, their shouts of “One more!” echoing all the way up the tunnel of the Superdome and right to the door of their locker room. One more game awaits, the biggest of their careers. The Jayhawks earned a trip back to the national championship Saturday night with a shooting performance that will go down in history. David McCormack muscled his way to 25 points, Ochai Agbaji hit six 3-pointers and had 21, and the only No. 1 seed to reach the national semifinals rolled to an 81-65 victory over Villanova before a huge crowd that packed the home of the New Orleans Saints one year after the pandemic kept just about everyone away. Well, they can look forward to a big-time showdown now: The Jayhawks, the winningest program in Division I history, will face North Carolina, which sits at No. 3 on the list and has been to more Final Fours than anyone.
April 3, 2022 3:54 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -The South Carolina Gamecocks have had the top spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll the entire season. The last test for the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament will be the Connecticut Huskies. Women’s college basketball gets the greats of the game together on the biggest stage as consistently as any sport. This South Carolina-UConn matchup is no different. The Gamecocks toppled Louisville 72-59 in the first semifinal behind 23 points and 18 rebounds from AP Player of the Year Aliyah Boston. The Huskies outlasted Stanford 63-58 in the second game. Bueckers had 14 points in her hometown.
April 2, 2022 3:57 am
(AP) – The injuries already are starting for Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets. The Mets ace will miss major time because of inflammation in his shoulder area. DeGrom won’t throw for up to four weeks and there is no timetable for his return. The Mets said an MRI earlier in the day showed a stress reaction on his right scapula that caused inflammation. The two-time Cy Young Award winner had been set to start the season opener Thursday in Washington. That assignment will go to Max Scherzer.
April 2, 2022 3:58 am
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama has withdrawn from the Valero Texas Open after nine holes of the second round, citing discomfort in his neck.
Wearing a strip of medical tape on the side of his neck, Matsuyama teed off Friday and birdied his opening hole at TPC San Antonio. He made bogey two holes later and came back with another birdie on the 16th hole for a 1-under-par on the back nine. With a 1-over tournament total, he was below the cut line.
Matsuyama is scheduled to defend his Masters title starting Thursday.
April 1, 2022 3:46 am
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Evgeni Malkin scored 3:57 into overtime and Rickard Rakell had two goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins halted Minnesota’s seven-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory over the Wild. Jake Guentzel added his 32nd goal of the season for Pittsburgh. Rakell has three goals in six games since being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks for three players and a second-round draft choice. Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith made 28 saves. Pittsburgh moved one point behind the New York Rangers for second in the Metropolitan Division. First-place Carolina is six points ahead of the Penguins. Kirill Kaprizov scored his 38th goal for Minnesota to tie the franchise record for points in a season with 83. Matt Dumba and Frederick Gaudreau also scored for the Wild. Cam Talbot stopped 35 shots.
April 1, 2022 3:50 am
A rules change to bring back automatic runners in extra innings is being brought back for a third straight season. MLB and the players’ association agreed to keep the controversial rule that starts each team with a runner on second base during extra innings for the 2022 regular season. The agreement regarding on-field rules modifications also includes expanding active rosters from 26 players to 28 from opening day on April 7 through May 1 this year, due to the delayed start of spring training.
March 31, 2022 3:46 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a new head coach. Bruce Arians has decided to retire and is moving into the Buccaneers’ front office. He’s being replaced by defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, whose previous head coaching job was with the New York Jets. Arians will turn 70 this coming season. He coached the Bucs to the Super Bowl title in the 2020 season and was 31-18 in three seasons with Tampa Bay. He called it the right time for him to make the transition to the front office. There was no public indication at the NFL’s annual meetings in Florida that such a move was coming. Arians is 80-48-1 in eight years as a head coach, including his five years with the Cardinals.
March 31, 2022 3:44 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to take a step forward in 2022 after three straight last-place finishes in the NL Central. The franchise has stockpiled prospects since general manager Ben Cherington took over in 2019 but most of them are not ready for the major leagues. If Pittsburgh is going to compete, it will need the pitching staff to bounce back from a rough 2022 and hope third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes avoids the kind of injuries that derailed his rookie season. The Pirates open the season April 7 at St. Louis.
March 31, 2022 3:48 am
UNDATED (AP) – The New York Rangers are two points closer to the NHL’s Metropolitan Division lead after rallying for a win in Detroit. Andrew Copp scored 1:34 into overtime of the Rangers’ fourth straight win, 5-4 over the Red Wings. Chris Kreider tied it with his 46th goal, beating Alex Nedeljkovic with 3:38 left in regulation. It was his league-leading 20th power-play goal. Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists for the Rangers, who are within three points of the first-place Hurricanes. Carolina has a game in hand. Ryan Reaves and Filip Chytil also scored for New York.
